Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

40. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the mechanism to be deployed to deliver on the commitments in Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8289/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

‘Our Rural Future – Rural Development Policy 2021-2025’ is the most ambitious development policy for rural Ireland in decades.

It was published in March 2021 and contains over 150 commitments across the whole of Government, for both short-term recovery and longer-term development.

The policy has a five-year timeframe, with updates on delivery provided by a series of Progress Reports.

My Department is preparing to publish the First Progress Report imminently, which outlines updates on 216 actions contained in the 2021 Work Programme. 

Further Progress Reports will be produced every six months thereafter, as per the commitment in the Policy.

The 2021 Work Programme contains actions which advance the delivery of more than 80% of commitments in the Policy.

Annual work programmes allow for the review and revision of priorities contained in the measures for delivery, as well as the addition of further measures over the lifetime of the Policy to adapt to the evolving needs and opportunities in rural areas.

My Department has continued to consult and engage with key stakeholders since the publication of the Policy, through events such as the Rural Ideas Fora, the first Rural Youth Assembly and bilateral discussions with relevant Departments.  This engagement will inform the development of the 2022 Work Programme, which I anticipate will be published in the coming weeks.

I am delighted with the level of activity across Departments in recent months to deliver on the Policy’s ambition in areas such as investment in local transport and active travel, remote working facilities and digital connectivity, and huge levels of support for important projects under my Department’s Rural Development Investment Programme.